Dignitaries and members of the community during a ceremonial turning of the soil Thursday morning for the groundbreaking of CEI’s new Future Tech Building. Watch highlights in the video above. | Video by Isabella Sosa-Salazar, EastIdahoNews.com
IDAHO FALLS – College of Eastern Idaho officially broke ground on its new Future Tech Building Thursday morning.
Construction on the 88,000-square-foot building is now underway in an empty field on the north side of the Idaho Falls campus. The two-level building will house energy, innovation and technology-related courses, such as cybersecurity and mechatronics, as well as IT and STEM programs.
“It’s constructed in a very open way. We don’t know what the careers are going to be in the future and it will be built in a way to accommodate that,” former CEI President Rick Aman tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Advertisement
RELATED | Construction slated to begin on new Future Tech building at CEI in June
In addition to classroom space, the building will have a conference center, field testing laboratories and a large gathering area for business and civic events, student group projects and bay space. Watch an animated fly-through of the building here.
The total cost of the project is about $50 million. Of that amount, about $32 million is being funded by taxpayers. The rest of the money is coming from grants and donations from the private sector.
The building is slated for completion in the fall of 2026.
Incoming CEI President Lori Barber addressing the crowd during Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Advertisement
During the groundbreaking, Aman noted this is his last official act as CEI’s president. Lori Barber, who previously served as the vice president of Academic and Student Affairs, was appointed to fill the role in June, which went into effect Thursday.
RELATED | College of Eastern Idaho appoints new president
CEI is the only educational institution in Idaho without a career and technical education building, according to its website. These courses are in high demand and the new building will solve a lot of challenges with inadequate space and limited resources so CEI can provide a “state-of-the-art” education for students.
Aman is thrilled to end his tenure by seeing this project come to fruition after three years of planning.
“What a fitting end, what a wonderful completion for me in my tenure as president. I couldn’t be more proud,” Aman says.
Advertisement
RELATED | College of Eastern Idaho President Rick Aman to retire in July
Barber was heavily involved in planning for this building in her previous role and is excited to oversee its construction.
“I certainly can’t think of a more exciting way to begin this journey than by celebrating the start of something so transformative for our students, faculty, staff and the community,” Barber said during the groundbreaking. “We’re not merely constructing a building, we’re laying the foundation for a legacy that will inspire and endure for generations to come.”
Anderson Construction has been selected as the general contractor for the project.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GROUNDBREAKING IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
Advertisement
The construction of a two-level, 88,000-square-foot energy, innovation and technology building is happening in an empty field on the north side of the Idaho Falls campus. | Courtesy CEI
A rendering of the new Future Tech building at CEI in Idaho Falls. | Courtesy CEI
=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https://www.eastidahonews.com/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”>
GENESSE – The Avista planned power outage for Friday, April 24 in Genesee has been cancelled and rescheduled due to weather. Approximately 337 Avista electric customers in Genesee will experience a planned power outage on Tuesday, April 28. The planned outage will start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.
All affected customers will be notified in advance. Traffic control will be in place from Laurel Street north of Chestnut Street.
During this time, Avista crews will be replacing aging infrastructure, including power poles and equipment, in the area. These updates are part of Avista’s ongoing efforts to enhance the safety and reliability of its infrastructure.
GARDEN CITY – A Boise-area girl is competing in the 2026 Junior Ranger Competition, and she needs your vote to advance.
Eleven-year-old Cali Lindsay of Garden City is currently in the top 10 in her age group. The first place contestant in each group will advance to the semi-finals, which will wrap on July 17.
The final round concludes on July 24. The winner will be awarded $20,000 and be featured on the cover of Ranger Rick Magazine. They’ll also win a trip with Jeff Corwin.
Cali’s mom, Emily Edginton, tells EastIdahoNews.com how the competition works.
Advertisement
“You’re allowed one free vote every 24 hours. People can also pay (to vote),” Edginton says. “The contestants have challenges every week to learn about animals and share what they’ve learned. People vote for the answer they like best. If you have enough votes, you move to the next round.”
Cali needs to secure enough votes by Thursday in order to advance to the next round.
The competition is a fundraiser for the National Wildlife Federation, the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States.
Edginton says they recently moved to Idaho from San Bernardino, California. Her daughter acquired a love of wildlife living in Lytle Creek, a community near the San Gabriel Mountains and San Bernardino National Forest.
“She’s already like a junior ranger. We picked up trash (in the forest) for fun,” Edginton says. “We try to keep it clean because we get a lot of visitors up there in the summertime and they trash the place. It affects the animals.”
Advertisement
Edginton says they moved to Idaho in February to be closer to family.
She’s grateful her daughter can be part of what she feels is a great cause, and hopes to see her advance, and even win the tournament.
“It’s a good cause, plus it’s a learning experience,” says Edginton.
To vote for Cali or learn more, click here.
=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https://www.eastidahonews.com/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”>
JACKSON, Wyo. — Springtime conjures images of adorable baby animals. Unfortunately, sometimes well-meaning humans feel compelled to interfere with Mother Nature by “rescuing” baby animals who appear to be alone.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) issued a spring reminder discouraging people from intervening when they assume a wild animal is lost, abandoned or orphaned.
“While these folks typically mean well, the sad reality is they are often doing more damage than good when they intervene — and typically, mom was not far away to begin with,” IDFG shared in a press release.
“Here’s the hard truth,” the agency wrote. “Animal parents will periodically leave their young for an extended period of time for a myriad of reasons, whether it’s to search for food, to rest or to divert attention from their vulnerable offspring, especially if they sense danger. When it comes to wildlife babies, wildlife mothers know best.”
Advertisement
In short, in an encounter with a lone duckling, gosling, deer fawn, baby bird, red dog or moose calf, do not disturb it. Instead, contact the state’s wildlife agency to report it. In Jackson, call the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at (307) 733-2321. In Idaho, reach IDFG at (208) 525-7290.
